SYNOPSIS

Cal, Declan, and Rowan have each received letters following their grandfather’s death that gives them tasks they must complete in order to receive their inheritance of twenty five billion dollars and shares in their family’s conglomerate.

Cal must return to their family’s summer home in Lake Wisteria and sell the house while living there in order to receive his inheritance. To his surprise, his ex who was the love of his life, is living in the house and with a daughter.

What could possibly happen?

RECAP AND REVIEW

This is the third book in the Dreamland Billionaire series. The first one follows Rowan and the second follow Declan. This one is told from a dual perspective between Alana and Cal. It is a second chance romance with a single mom.

I loved the second book in the series so I was apprehensive coming into this book because I didn’t think it could top it. And for me…it didn’t. I love Cal and enjoyed seeing all the cameos from the brothers and their significant others, but the longer I read this book, the more annoyed I got by it, by no fault of Cal.

Cal is an anxious, self-loathing alcoholic and while there were days he got too drunk, I feel like Lana’s constant mistrust and disappointment in him was surface level. Yes, he broke her heart when he left SIX years ago, but since he’s been back, he’s constantly trying to prove to her why he’s worthy of her love and the story is way too long (500+ pages) for me not to be annoyed by how apprehensive she is. (And to be honest, while Cal’s relationship with alcohol is unhealthy, it felt watered down because he has to be redeemable).

The story gets repetitive. Lana isn’t even supportive of him nor is she trying to constructively help him with his addiction. Addiction is tricky, but to me, a partner would try to be of assistance more than Lana did, while keeping their boundaries intact. When she catches him drinking, she doesn’t try to be understanding. She goes straight to shaming him. I know she has dealt with her sister’s addictions and that it is a triggering experience, but if she doesn’t want to or can’t deal with it, she has to let him go.

Lana allows the entire town to be snarky and cold to Cal just because she has beef with him. The town has a mob mentality and I know if she asked them to stand down they would’ve. She doesn’t trust him and jumps to the worst conclusions every single chance she gets. It had me questioning if she really did love him.

The highlight of the story was Cami, Lana’s daughter, and Cal’s relationship. Cami is spunky and a typical kid that asks a lot of questions. Cal is amused by her. Their relationship growing was cute and as a single mom it warmed my heart.

Towards the end of the book, Cal makes a choice that he says is for himself, but it really didn’t feel like it was for him. It felt like it was for Lana and that isn’t sustainable. In the book, there is also a mention of withdrawal situations and that came out of nowhere to me because he wasn’t even drinking like that because of Lana. There was a disconnect for me concerning this.

What happens with the shares and inheritance is satisfying. Brady, their dad, is the worst but I also enjoy seeing him in each of the books too.

OVERALL

Overall, I give this book a 3 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed it in the beginning, but this book made me understand why people hate second chance romances. If the issues from before can’t be let go, then it’ll never work. I didn’t find myself rooting for this couple in the end.